Labelled sponges

ABSTRACT

The present invention involves to a cleaning tool comprising a pad or towel with a mark designating the intended use of the pad or towel. A cleaning kit comprises a plurality of cleaning pads or towels with at least one face with a mark designating an intended use and includes instructions for use of the pads, enclosed in a receptacle.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention relates to sponges and other multiple purpose,reusable cleaning towels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Cleaning towels and sponges are often used for many differentpurposes around a household, business, or other facility. Uses includecleaning floors, windows, cars, and the like; polishing furniture,silver and other metal articles, and the like; sanitizing bathrooms;cleaning kitchenware; preparing food; removing stains; mopping upspills; and a variety of other uses. These uses often conflict, e.g., noone who uses a sponge to clean a bathroom would willingly also use itfor food preparation or kitchen cleaning.

[0003] Frequently, a sponge that is used for one of these purposes willbe reused, or used multiple times, in order to avoid the expense ofconstantly purchasing new sponges or to avoid the hassle of having toopen a new package each time a sponge is needed, among other reasons.Often, for convenience, a sponge is kept in an area where it istypically used. As a result, sponges with conflicting uses arefrequently stored in the same general area, e.g. a sponge used for foodpreparation and a sponge used to clean the kitchen counter are typicallyboth kept on the kitchen counter. This can lead to the accidentalswitching of the sponges the next time they are used. Similarly, it isoften the case that all the sponges used for cleaning purposes will bekept in a common area devoted to storage of cleaning supplies. As aresult, one can very easily mix up sponges with conflicting cleaninguses, e.g. a sponge used to clean the toilet can be confused for asponge used to clean the bathtub.

[0004] The general practice of using and storing sponges and othercleaning towels disadvantageously includes a substantial likelihood ofaccidentally employing the wrong sponge for a particular use, possiblycausing damage, contamination, infection, sickness, or in some cases,even death.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] The present invention relates to a cleaning tool comprising anabsorbent pad having at least one face and a mark on said facedesignating the intended use of the pad. A cleaning kit comprises aplurality of absorbent pads, each pad having at least one face and amark on said face designating the intended use of said pad, instructionson use of the pads, and a receptacle for enclosing the pads.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0007]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] This invention provides improved sponges and cleaning towels thatdrastically decrease the probability of accidental switching. FIG. 1shows an one embodiment of the present invention, a cleaning toolcomprising an absorbent pad 2 with at least one face 4. According to theinvention, a mark 6 designating a particular intended use, located onthe face 4 of the pad, solves the above-noted problem in the art. Themark 6 may comprise a word or short phrase denoting the place in which,or the purpose for which, the sponge is to be used. Alternatively, themark 6 may be a symbol to designate the particular use. Preferably, themark 6 is not easily removed when the sponge or towel is used for itsintended purpose. Therefore, it may be printed with appropriate inks ordyes depending upon use. Similarly, it may be created via a surfacetreatment, such that the mark 6 is legibly formed in or on the sponge ortowel from the material of which the sponge or towel is made.Alternatively, the mark may be embossed or debossed.

[0009] In addition to selling the sponge in individual packages ortypically random collections of several sponges, it could also be soldin various types of sets or kits. FIG. 2 shows a cleaning kit includinga plurality of pads 10, 12 with marks 20, 22 designating intended use ofthe pads. The pads 10, 12, are enclosed in a receptacle 30, made ofplastic, cardboard, combination of both, or any other suitable materialfor a receptacle 30. Additionally, the kit could include instructions onuse of the pads.

[0010] For instance, a “kitchen set” of sponges could be sold, including“counter,” “sink,” “dishes,” and “food” sponges, among others.Similarly, a “household set” could be sold, including sponges for allthe rooms of the house. Another example would be an “auto kit,”including a sponge for different steps of treating an automobile, suchas a “soap” sponge, a “glass” cleaner sponge, a “wax” sponge, and thelike. These are just a few examples, as the possibilities for theassemblage of sets are endless.

[0011] Because sponges are often located in areas where aesthetic appealis desired, such as kitchens and bathrooms, the label can take variousforms in order to facilitate this. For instance, the marking may be inany of various fonts and styles, and may even be accompanied by simpledesigns. Similarly, the markings may be in different colors, such ascolors that match, or are a different hue of, the color of the sponge.

[0012] In order to increase the usefulness of the invention as a way ofeliminating confusion about the previous uses of a particular sponge,the marking may be in a color that sharply contrasts with the color ofthe sponge to make the label more obvious to one who grabs the sponge inhaste. For the same reason, the marking can appear on multiple facesrather than just one, such as both on the front and the back of thesponge.

[0013] The invention relates to any kind of cleaning pad or towel, butparticularly relates to sponges and absorbent cleaning cloths, such asHandi Wipes®. These are very versatile and resilient, and are thuscommonly used for a wide variety of purposes and are reused many times.Therefore, multiple, previously used sponges and absorbent cleaningcloths are often kept around for reuse, and are thus very prone toaccidental use for the wrong purpose.

[0014] The invention relates to any size or shape of sponges. Inaddition to sponges and absorbent cleaning cloths, the invention alsorelates to scouring pads and other cleaning towels, which may befashioned from cloth, wool, plastic, or any other material suited forcleaning pads and towels.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cleaning tool, comprising: an absorbent padhaving at least one face; and a mark on said face, which mark designatesan intended use of said pad.
 2. A cleaning, kit comprising: a pluralityof absorbent pads, each of which pads has at least one face; a mark oneach of said face, each of which marks designates an intended use ofsaid respective pad; and a receptacle for enclosing said pads.